Posts Tagged ‘River Medway’

Upnor Castle was constructed between 1559-67 to defend the Chatham Dockyard and Reach which was at the time the primary port for the British Navy. In June 1667, the Dutch launched a surprise raid on Chatham. The entered the reach and burned and captured a number of ships. The defensive positions such as Upnor were severely hampered by a lack of ordinance supplies and thus were unable to prevent the progress of the Dutch fleet up the river. They were resupplied overnight and when the Dutch returned the next day intent on burning the dockyard, Upnor and the other positions were successful in driving them off before they reached their target. However, the raid had shown that any raid needed to be stopped before it got that close to the dockyard and so a series of larger forts were built nearer the Thames. Upnor became a gunpowder and cannon store for ships visiting the Dockyard. It remained a military establishment until 1945 when it passed to the Dept of Monuments and is now open to the Public and managed by English Heritage.

A lovely sunny day saw Keith and I take a trip out with skipper Ray Wade exploring the islands and sandbanks of the River Medway. Before we got to the dock we stopped off at Motney Hill to look for birds and butterflies. We recorded nine different species of butterfly inc Red Admiral, Brimstone and Holly Blue.

Motney Hill

But perhaps the best sighting was one we did not see! The distinctive purring of a Turtle Dove is a rare sound these days as this summer visitor has become very scarce in the UK.

Otterham Quay

Then it is onto Otterham Quay to join the boat for an afternoon cruise into the River Medway. Before we leave the dock we have had excellent if passing views of Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper.

Most of the breeding birds have already departed from the islands and no Terns or Meditteranean Gulls were recorded. However, the waders are starting to return and large groups of Common Redshank, Oystercatcher, Black-Tailed Godwits and Ruddy Turnstone were located along with some Whimbrel, another pair of Common Sandpiper and a Greenshank.

Oystercatcher

Black-Tailed Godwit

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

Passing one of the old jetties a female Peregrine was located on the rails at the end and stayed there for a couple of passes in the boat. Maybe she has just fed and could not be bothered to move off.

Peregrine

Soon it was time to head back on the turning tide to get back into Otterham dock. Not the most extensive bird list, but a lovely way to spend an afternoon and great views of a Peregrine

On the islands in the River Medway are the remains of a number forts built to protect the docks from attack. Their construction was matched by the building of large garrison forts in the Medway Towns area.

The Medway estuary has long been a place of Industry. originally the saltmarsh islands were used for grain farming and the crops shipped directly from the islands to London. Later there were large oil refineries (now abandoned) and 2 power stations (now in the process of being taken down).

Now the saltmarshes are just left to the wildlife and it has become a marvellous area to observe both birds and marine mammals. But the remains of that legacy linger on.

Kingsnorth Power Station – disused and in the process of being demolished

A boat jetty with facilities for those who couldn’t wait to phone home

The piers which linked the deep water berths of the Oil tankers to the refinery. This was once the longest pier in the world at over 2 miles long

Another very pleasant day and a chance to do some birdwatching from the water during a trip Keith and I made with Skipper Ray Wade out to the saltmarsh islands in the River Medway. Our morning trip took us out past Burntwick marsh and we got a look at the Gull colonies, where there seemed to be a lrger number than usual of Mediterranean Gulls. There were also large numbers of Brent Geese and Black-tailed Godwits on the mud-flats, either already on migration or just about to leave.

Mediterranean Gulls

Black-tailed Godwits

Brent Geese

We dropped anchor off Greenborough marsh for lunch and were immediately busy as there seemed to be birds everywhere. Along with the numerous Marsh Harriers and Common Buzzards, a passing hawk was identified as a migrating Honey Buzzard and shortly afterwards a Hen Harrier was seen over one of the islands. Rather than moving on it was decided to just sit where we were and see what went past. During the coarse of the afternoon we also saw an Osprey and 3 Honey Buzzards plus numerous Common Buzzards and Marsh Harriers.

Common Buzzard

On the way back to dock at the end of the afternoon we found 3 Peregrines and a Shag around the remains of the old oil jetties.

The year is drawing to an end and a final chance to get out on the River Medway with Skipper Ray Wade. Birdwatching estuaries from a boat gives a different perspective to watching from land. Using the boat you can get to places that would be totally inaccessible or unseen from land.

As we left the harbour we saw a large raptor in a tree. The slightly odd light did cause some confusion but eventually it was identified as a female Marsh Harrier.

Marsh Harrier

As we toured the small pieces of Marsh still above the high water we found small parties of waders using these small islands as roosting places, but in fact the waders and other water birds will use anything they can find – old mooring jetties, wrecks and even navigation signs.

Turnstones and Ringed Plover on an old jetty

Oystercatcher and Turnstone on old boat

Turnstone and Ringed Plover

Greater Black-backed Gull

Room for one more?

We located a Peregrine perched on a jetty although unfortunately it flew off as we manoeuvred the boat for a clearer view. Occasionally we spotted a Common Seal which seemed to come to watch us.

Common Seal

A peaceful couple of hours in calm still conditions with good birdwatching

Apart from the strong winds it was great to be able to get out of the office and spend a day with Keith walking the River Medway near Gillingham. The tide was well out, which meant that many birds were far out on the mud-flats. We began our walk at Eastcourt meadows in the hope of a Woodcock, but given the mild nature of our weather so far it was not surprising that we did not locate one of these winter visitors, Making our way to the estuary we headed towards Copperhouse creek. In the pools and channels in the mudflats were groups of Wigeon and Teal. 3 drake Pintail briefly made an appearance before disappearing out of sight. Further out on the mud were large groups of Shelduck

Teal and Wigeon

Shelduck

On one of the pools a few gulls were present and we were delighted to find a Mediterranean Gull amongst the Black-headed Gulls. Once a scarce visitor to these shores, it is now an established breeder,

Mediterranean Gull

Tracing our way back east past we made our way towards Horrid Hill, a piece of land which sticks out into the river. In a channel we found a Greenshank.

Greenshank

Ringed plover scurried about on the mud and we found a second Mediterranean Gull this time even closer.

Ringed Plover

Another Mediterranean Gull

Off the wharf near Motney Hill, we found another large group of Teal and Wigeon.

Wigeon

We finished our day at the reed bed alongside the Motney Hill road. Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush and a single Redwing were all seen, whilst we could hear singing Song Thrush. A Water Rail called and a silent Sparrowhawk glided through the reed tops looking for one last meal before dark.

All in all a good day and we both agreed that those Mediterranean Gulls were the highlight of the day